A Marianist Community Meeting Kit from NACMS Mary, Mother of Humanity

April, 2019

She shows us the way of true Christian life. Following her example of faith, poverty of spirit, And attentiveness to the Lord, We hope to reflect to those around us Mary’s warmth of welcome to God and to others. Like her, we wholly commit ourselves To the mystery of our vocation.

Rule of Life of the Society of Mary, article 8

OPENING PRAYER Litany of Mary of Nazareth

Glory to you, God our Creator Oppressed woman Breathe into us new life, new meaning. Lead us to life. Glory to you, God our Savior Liberator of the oppressed ... Lead us in the way of peace and justice. Marginalized woman ... Glory to you, healing Spirit Comforter of the afflicted ... Transform us to empower others. Cause of our joy ... Sign of contradiction ... Mary, wellspring of peace Breaker of bondage ... Be our guide. Political refugee ... Model of strength ... Seeker of sanctuary ... Model of gentleness ... First disciple ... Model of trust ... Sharer in Christ’s passion ... Model of courage ... Seeker of God’s will ... Model of patience ... Witness to Christ’s resurrection ... Model of risk … Model of openness ... Woman of mercy Model of perseverance ... Empower us. Woman of faith ... Mother of the liberator Woman of contemplation … Pray for us. Woman of vision ... Mother of the homeless ... Woman of wisdom and understanding ... Mother of the dying ... Woman of grace and truth ... Mother of the nonviolent ... Woman, pregnant with hope ... Widowed mother ... Woman centered in God … Unwed mother ... Mother of a political prisoner ... Amen Mother of the condemned ... Mother of the executed criminal ... Food for Thought Mother of Humanity by Ambrogio Albano, SM Adapted from “The Marian Dimension of Human Existence,” The Promised Woman: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Marianist Spirituality

When people speak about Mary, some of Living and working as them exhibit a pious attention and willingly Marianists in the world does express personal experiences. But matters take a not mean diminishing the different turn when they are asked, “Does Mary “divine” element of Mary. have any influence in your life, or in human life What it requires is language in general?” which seeks not so much to raise Mary to the greatness of Others take refuge in their “Christological” God, but rather to raise human convictions; if someone suggests Mary as beings to the greatness of Mary. This discussion may mediator between human beings and God, they seem less theological . . . but if it helps break through quickly reply that Christ is sufficient for them. the cultural barriers of our modern world, the image of Some consider Mary superfluous, or they respond Mary will not be lessened, and the image of the human that God does not need the pleadings of Mary. being can only gain a greater fullness and vitality. Finally, there are those who give Mary a large Mary will then be seen as “the mantle of Christ” for all place in their devotions; but if she is presented as those seeking a Messiah. And if the Son can still ask, a model of faith in their workplace, they reply “Who has touched me?” it will mean that a saving faith that her experience is so sublime and ideal that it is still to be found on earth. cannot easily be repeated…. The great things which took place in the young In general, I do not wish to speak about a woman of Nazareth do not unveil universal processes Madonna placed “up there” in the heavens, but of or cosmic laws; rather they are to be seen as grace- a Madonna found “down here” on earth. I do not filled moments, stories of salvation veiled in obscurity speak of the glories of Mary, but of her human for the woman who lived them: “how can this aspects. I do not speak of a Mary placed outside be?” (Luke 1:34); she “preserved all these things, our earthly existence, but of a Mary implanted at treasuring them in her heart” (Luke 2:19, 51); “they the very core of our lives. did not understand what he was saying” (Luke 2:50). As you can see, my presentation “explores” However much our reasoning may have developed Mary with reverse binoculars. The purpose is not concerning the mystery of the Mother of the to diminish Mary—quite the contrary—but to Redeemer, it will forever necessarily remain tied to the reaffirm that creation, redemption, and concreteness of gospel witness. . . . eschatology all have a Marian dimensions, a The Human Dimension of Religion Marian dimension which our Marianist tradition declares is, for us and for our world, “our gift The Annunciation reveals what may be called the from God.” human dimension of religion, of faith, and therefore of life. The Marian Dimension of Human Existence Mary is not the absolute, the inaccessible Godhead, Among Marianists Our Lady certainly has her invisible, fearsome, the infinitely distant being which theologians, her devotees, her artists, and her our efforts can never touch in the mystery of its depths. poets; my considerations will not rise to such Between the human being and God there always heights. They will be limited rather to speaking of remains “,” not only Marianists as sons and daughters of Mary who, theological but also mystical. having already internalized the mother-child relationship, express it and live it out in their lives Nor is Mary the Christ, mediator, at once God and as an instinctive, almost visceral, experience, the man, Redeemer—with whom I can have an intimate “second nature” of their existence. contact, yet a contact that is not merely human: my relationship with Christ . . . escapes definition in with the grandest insights of theology: redemption, terms of human relationships. creation, love, distribution of graces, and the of human beings. Mary is something other. The divine announcement comes to this young girl, tailoring God could have become Emmanuel, God among itself to her human condition—to her expectations us, appearing in splendor at the Transfiguration and and hopes, yes, but also to her doubts; to her faith, parading as the victorious Lamb of the Apocalypse; but also to her questioning; to her submission, but and Mary could have walked about Nazareth as “the also to her free decision. God’s announcement seeks, woman clothed with the sun.” But it did not happen accepts, and lives in the human dimension of Mary. that way. The Annunciation event reminds us of a human—terribly human–dimension of religion so And this human dimension of religion, of faith, of forcefully that Christianity runs the risk of devotion is symbolized—I might say, incarnated—in sometimes appearing banal, if not downright Mary. Religion which loses itself in dreamy commonplace…. , which evaporates into a disincarnated vagueness while perhaps grasping the mystery, loses A personal relationship with Mary brings a sense its sense of the natural, the human, and the concrete; of naturalness, a dimension of humanness, to it is no longer substantial, human, earthly—that is to religion, to devotion, to the apostolate, to mysticism, say, total. Mary is merely a creature, yet she is to religious devotion. Once we have established associated with everything, with the redemption of personal contact with Mary, it is difficult to confuse the human race and the mystery of God. filial piety with the piety of formulas, or love with austere strength of will. If I compare the Christian religion imbued with this human dimension of Mary to other religions, I The Annunciation is not the spiritualization of a discover the enormous difference between an woman or of human nature; it is the glad tidings of incarnational Christianity and a certain religiosity God becoming a human being! If the reflections of filled with transcendental purity or fascinating theologians are correct, we may say that Mary, mystery, but which seems to exist in some “beyond” having become the human mother of God, lacked and causes human beings to live in tension, obsessed only one more thing—to become mother of with a destiny always more demanding. Such religion humanity. Obviously, it was not a joyous moment in seems not to be a matter of everyday, for it is too her life when she heard the words of Jesus, “Behold sublime; in practice it is unattainable, for it lacks your son!” But what was proclaimed on Calvary elements of humanness and naturalness. remained even after the resurrection of Christ: to Mary was announced and confided the mission of In virtue of a fiat at the Annunciation, the humanizing the faith of each believer. It is good to humanity of a poor peasant girl has been associated embrace Mary, the icon of God. But it is even more pleasing to embrace Mary, the icon of humanity, of my humanity. Sometimes the people of God have been presented with a Madonna too “divine”: all holy, clothed with the sun, miraculous image, inimitable virgin. All generations have hastened to create for her pyramids of such high and unattainable holiness such that spirituality and religion became ladders of Jacob on which were found only those people going toward heaven. Perhaps it is time to rediscover that the very God, that Mary, that all the choirs of angels and saints continue to descend toward earth and to choose human nature as their dwelling place. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

 What names of Mary from the Litany most speak to you?

 How does Mary make religion “a matter of every day?”

 What is an example of a grace-filled moment in your life?

 Consider the idea of Mary as “Mother of Humanity.” Can we be raised to the greatness of Mary?

LARGE GROUP GATHERING Review the discussion questions and share the thoughts that emerged in the small group discussions.

CLOSING PRAYER Mary, Queen of Peace, we entrust our lives to you. Shelter us from war, hatred, and oppression. Teach us to live in peace, to educate ourselves for peace. Inspire us to act justly, to reverence all God has made. Root peace firmly in our hearts and in our world. Amen. (Adapted from the Prayer Service Marking the Beatification of Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon)

FOR MORE INFORMATION Related resources available at nacms.org include: Marianist Community Meeting Kits are provided for the Marianist Family by the The Promised Woman: Proceedings of the International North American Center for Marianist Studies, Symposium on Marianist Spirituality NACMS. Additional Community Meeting Devotion to Mary in Chaminade’s Life and Thought, Kits, as well as other Marianist Studies Jean-Baptiste Armbruster, SM resources, are available at nacms.org. Mary in Modern Spirituality, Quentin Hakenewerth, SM Scripture and the Marian Writings of Father William Joseph Chaminade, Bertrand A. Buby, SM